Czech Republic

Karlov College 

 Study programs in English 

 About the University

Charles University in Prague – Universitas Carolina Pragensis – is the oldest university North of the Alps and East of Paris.Charles University founded in 1348 by the King of Bohemia and of the Romans Charles IV, is one of the oldest universities in the world and nowadays belongs to the most eminent educational and scientific establishments in the Czech Republic which are recognized in both the European and global context. It is an outstanding cultural institution due to its scientific and pedagogical results and its unique historical tradition.  

Charles University now contains 17 faculties  (14 in Prague, 2 in Hradec Králové, and 1 in Plzeň), 3 collegiate institutes, 6 additional establishments for educational, scientific, research and developmental  activities and other creative activities and for information service, 5 university-wide facilities and the vice-chancellor´s/ rector´s office as an executive establishment for Charles University management. There are more than 7000 University employees, 4000 of them are academic and research workers.

Over 47,000 students study at Charles University (approximately one fifth of all the students in the Czech Republic) in more than 270 accredited academic programs with 600 departments. 7200 students are studying for bachelor´s degrees, 29 000 students are studying for master´s degrees, and over 6200 students are in PhD programs. There are more than 4500 foreign students—750 of which study in English language academic programs. Over 5000 participants graduate from continuing education courses every year.  

Scientific and research activities form the basis on which the doctoral and master´s programs are based at Charles University. Scientific results of Charles University workplaces measured by the amount of financial means provided to universities in the Czech Republic make approximately one third of this financial means. Charles University aims to be recognized as a competitive research university on the world stage. 

Charles University stresses international cooperation with prestigious educational and scientific establishments. Charles University has entered into 450 bilateral contracts and 170 international partnerships with foreign universities.

Charles University is an accredited public university, it is an autonomous scientific and educational establishment. The rector is head of Charles University; the Academic Senate is the supreme self-regulating academic organ. Other organs: the Academic Council and bursar, the Board of Directors is responsible for implementation of public interest in Charles University activities, the Senate consisting of prorectors,  bursar and chancellor makes the consultative body of the rector. The deans are heads of faculties which are independent to a large extent; other parts of Charles University are managed by their directors.   

Doctoral studies at Charles University

Doctoral studies at Charles University, as at other older European universities, have a tradition that goes back centuries. They have always been and still are regarded as the road to deeper knowledge and independent original activity in research, development and the arts. Doctoral students, who currently make up 13% of all the students at the university, are provided with the highest form of education in 130 study programmes divided into 359 fields of study.

In view of its size, established co-operative links with scientific and research institutes elsewhere in the CR and its international contacts, Charles University is able to provide excellent conditions of study for doctoral students. The modern concept of academic research based on team work, interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity is applied through a system of research centres and over-arching research projects that link up various different departments and in which doctoral students are significantly creatively involved. Some doctoral programmes are wholly or partly organised in co-operation with institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague on the basis of Framework Agreements on Co-operation and with other research institutions.

For regular full-time students from outside Prague the university offers accommodation in halls of resident. The standard period of doctoral studies is 3 years, and the maximum period is 8 years.Studies are structured according to individual study plans, under the guidance of a supervisor, and are monitored and assessed by the appropriate subject board. From the first to the third year of regular full-time doctoral studies, students are entitled to a monthly wage. Those studying in English pay tuition fees, which vary from 4,000 USD to 25,000 USD per academic year depending on field of study.

How to Apply for Doctoral Studies

An up-to-date list of available study programmes for a specific academic year is published four months before the final deadline for applications on the Internet pages of the faculties of CU in Prague, i.e. http:/www,cuni.cz, usually by the 1^st of January of the relevant calendar year.

The deadline for applications for doctoral studies is usually 30^th of April at the study department of the particular faculty desired. Admissions examinations take place in the month of June.

1^st MEDICAL FACULTY

Address: Kateřinská 32, 121 08 Praha 2
http://www.lf1.cuni.cz

Courses

BIOCHEMISTRY AND PATHOBIOCHEMISTRY

Biochemistry and pathobiochemistry are concerned primarily with biochemical and molecular biological problems of enzymes as gene products with catalytic properties. They are disciplines engaged in detailed development of methods of isolation and physico-chemical characterisation of biomacromolecules. As regards methods, the subject demands a mastery of the basic techniques of separation and functional and structural characterisation of biomacromolecules and other biochemical components of the cell, as well as the products of normal and pathological metabolism.

THE BIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY OF THE CELL

The object of study is the dynamics of the mutual relations and functional-structural characteristic basic components of eukaryotic cells in normal physiological circumstances and during pathological processes and their modelling. It is also concerned with general functional manifestations of the cell, such as the cell cycle, movement and suchlike, including their regulatory mechanisms. The primary methods employed are cytochemistry, in situ hybridisation, electron microscopy, image analysis, and biological experiment in vivo and in vitro. The discipline overlaps with many others, especially molecular biology, biochemistry and physiology.

BIOMEDICAL INFORMATION SCIENCE

Biomedical information science includes all areas of information science in biomedicine (i.e. medical information science, healthcare information science, medical information science and bio-information science) and is an independent interdisciplinary discipline with its own study programme as at West European universities and in the USA and in other countries (e.g. Canada, Brazil, Australia). A definition of the discipline can be found, for example, in the dictionary of specialist terminology published by the European Commission in 2001.

EXPERIMENTAL SURGERY

The discipline of experimental surgery is focused on study of the theoretical foundations of medical fields that employ surgical procedures in the widest sense of the term. The objects of study and research are the molecular biological, structural, pathophysiological and metabolic changes in damaged cells, tissue and organs that take place in the course of the progress of pathological processes, or their experimental induction, and that can be influenced by surgery. Particular attention is directed to questions of repair and healing of individual tissue structures. These processes are investigated in genetic, immunological and endocrinological connections.

PHARMACOLOGY AND TOXICOLOGY

Pharmacology and toxicology are sciences that study the mechanisms of the interaction of substances and therapeutic drugs (and their interproducts ) with biological systems, and their favourably or unfavourable consequences for the organism. The ultimate goal is the exploitation of the knowledge acquired for prevention, diagnostics and treatment of human and veterinary disorders. These disciplines involve research from the molecular level to exploration of effects on the whole organism, The research is conducted in clinical practice as well, with patients suffering from the disorders concerned.

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGY

A functionally defined discipline which is concerned with the study of the regulatory functions of organs during reaction and adaptation of the individual systems of the organism to changes of external and internal environment, in normal and pathological states. The usual procedure is to move from the study of the indirect manifestations of a certain function to the study of intrinsic functional and regulatory mechanisms at the cellular and molecular level with the aim of exploiting the knowledge gained for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human illnesses.

IMMUNOLOGY

The discipline studies the mechanisms of immune reactions at the cellular and molecular level in normal and pathological states

MICROBIOLOGY AND MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY

The discipline is focused on the physiology, molecular biology and genetics of micro-organisms. The object of research is study of the control of gene expression and physiological regulations (including their application in biotechnologies) and the mechanisms of the interaction of pathogenic bacteria with the host.

MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOLOGY, GENETICS AND VIROLOGY

Studies are orientated on a broader basis towards molecular biology and biochemistry, especially those parts concerned with the structure and function of genes and gene expression and its regulation on the transcription and translation level. The methodological basis of the discipline consists of classical and molecular approaches which are applied in the study of all types and levels of biological objects in normal and pathological states, including tumorous transformation of cells and infection processes, with the aim of understanding and purposefully modifying the biological mechanisms and manifestations involved.

NEUROSCIENCES

Neurosciences include and combine a number of sub-disciplines such as neuro-anatomy, neurohistology, neurochemistry including likvorology, neirology including neuro-imaging methods, neurorehabilitation, psychiatry including psychology and neurosurgery.

PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

The discipline studies the mechanisms of interaction between chemical, physical and biological factors of the living and working environment, and the organism. It integrates various methodological approaches primarily from the fields of toxicology, molecular biology and immunology. It is the theoretical basis for preventive disciplines in medicine, i.e. hygiene and epidemiology.

DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY

Developmental biology is focused on the manifestations and mechanisms of the differentiation of cells and tissue in developing systems (in normal and pathological states), and especially on the ontogenetic development of the individual. It includes both study at the level of organs (developmental morphology) and study at the cellular and molecular level, particularly in the crucial area of regulation of gene expression. The discipline therefore integrates the methodological approaches of molecular biology, genetics, cellular biology and morphological fields.

2^nd MEDICAL FACULTY

Address: V Úvalu 84, 150 06 Praha 5
tel.: +420 / 224 431 111
http://www.lf2.cuni.cz

Courses

ANTHROPOLOGY

The aim of studies is to prepare students for scientific research work at a level that meets the contemporary demands of science. The newly conceived discipline integrates physical anthropology, including genetics, ecology and human ethology with socio-cultural anthropology in a unified approach to the study of man and population. At the general level studies are geared to providing students with the theoretical principles of the disciplines and a working knowledge of its methods and the methodology of scientific research.

BIOCHEMISTRY AND PATHOBIOCHEMISTRY

Biochemistry and pathobiochemistry are concerned primarily with biochemical and molecular biological problems of enzymes as gene products with catalytic properties. They are engaged in detailed development of methods of isolation and physico-chemical characterisation of biomacromolecules. As regards methods, the subject demands a mastery of the basic techniques of separation and functional and structural characterisation of biomacromolecules and other biochemical components of the cell, as well as the products of normal and pathological metabolism.

THE BIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY OF THE CELL

The object of study is the dynamics of the mutual relations and functional-structural characteristic basic components of eukaryotic cells in normal physiological circumstances and during pathological processes and their modelling. It is also concerned with general functional manifestations of the cell, such as the cell cycle, movement and suchlike, including their regulatory mechanisms.The primary methods employed are cytochemistry, in situ hybridisation, electron microscopy, image analysis, and biological experiment in vivo and in vitro. The discipline overlaps with many others, especially molecular biology, biochemistry and physiology.

EXPERIMENTAL SURGERY

The discipline of experimental surgery is focused on study of the theoretical foundations of medical fields that employ surgical procedures in the widest sense of the term. The objects of study and research are the molecular biological, structural, pathophysiological and metabolic changes in damaged cells, tissue and organs that take place in the course of the progress of pathological processes, or their experimental induction, and that can be influenced by surgery. Particular attention is directed to questions of repair and healing of individual tissue structures. These processes are investigated in genetic, immunological and endocrinological connections.

PHARMACOLOGY AND TOXICOLOGY

Pharmacology and toxicology are sciences that study the mechanisms of the interaction of substances and therapeutic drugs (and their interproducts) with biological systems, and their favourably or unfavourable consequences for the organism. The ultimate goal is the exploitation of the knowledge acquired for prevention, diagnostics and treatment of human and veterinary disorders. These disciplines involve research from the molecular level to exploration of effects on the whole organism, The research is conducted in clinical practice as well, with patients suffering from the disorders concerned.

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGY

A functionally defined discipline, which is concerned with the study of the regulatory functions of organs during reaction and adaptation of the individual systems of the organism to changes of external and internal environment, in normal and pathological states. The usual procedure is to move from the study of the indirect manifestations of a certain function to the study of intrinsic functional and regulatory mechanisms at the cellular and molecular level with the aim of exploiting the knowledge gained for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human illnesses.

GERONTOLOGY

The aim of studies is to provide students who have graduated from pharmaceutical, medical, natural scientific and related faculties with knowledge of the processes of ageing and their causes. The study programme is determined on an individual basis depending on the dissertation work. The main directions of study are as follows: theories of ageing and their verification, social and demographic consequences of ageing, diet and the ageing process, factors affecting processes of ageing.

IMMUNOLOGY

The discipline studies the mechanisms of immune reactions at the cellular and molecular level in normal and pathological states

MICROBIOLOGY AND MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY

The discipline is focused on the physiology, molecular biology and genetics of micro-organisms. The object of research is study of the control of gene expression and physiological regulations (including their application in biotechnologies) and the mechanisms of the interaction of pathogenic bacteria with the host.

MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOLOGY, GENETICS AND VIROLOGY

Studies are orientated on a broader basis towards molecular biology and biochemistry, especially those parts concerned with the structure and function of genes and gene expression and its regulations on the transcription and translation level. The methodological basis of the discipline consists of classical and molecular approaches which are applies in the study of all types and levels of biological objects in normal and pathological states, including tumorous transformation of cells and infection processes, with the aim of understanding and purposefully modifying the biological mechanisms and manifestations involved.

NEUROSCIENCES

Neurosciences include and combine a number of sub-disciplines such as neuro-anatomy, neurohistology, neurochemistry including likvorology, neirology including neuro-imaging methods, neurorehabilitation, psychiatry including psychology and neurosurgery.

PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

The discipline studies the mechanisms of interaction between chemical, physical and biological factors of the living and working environment and the organism. It integrates various methodological approaches primarily from the fields of toxicology, molecular biology and immunology. It is the theoretical basis for preventive disciplines in medicine, i.e. hygiene and epidemiology. 

3^rd MEDICAL FACULTY

Address: Ruská 87, 100 00 Praha 10
tel.: +420 / 267 102 111
fax: +420 / 267 311 812
http://www.lf3.cuni.cz 

ANTHROPOLOGY

The aim of studies is to prepare students for scientific research work at a level that meets the contemporary demands of science. The newly conceived discipline integrates physical anthropology, including genetics, ecology and human ethology with sociocultural anthropology in a unified approach to the study of man and population. At the general level studies are geared to providing students with the theoretical principles of the disciplines and a working knowledge of its methods and the methodology of scientific research.

BIOCHEMISTRY AND PATHOBIOCHEMISTRY

Biochemistry and pathobiochemistry are concerned primarily with biochemical and molecular biological problems of enzymes as gene products with catalytic properties. They currently involve detailed development of methods of isolation and physico-chemical characterisation of biomacromolecules. As regards methods, the subject demands a mastery of the basic techniques of separation and functional and structural characterisation of biomacromolecules and other biochemical components of the cell, as well as the products of normal and pathological metabolism.

BIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY OF THE CELL

The object of study is the dynamics of the mutual relations and functional-structural characteristic basic components of eukaryotic cells in normal physiological circumstances and during pathological processes and their modelling. It is also concerned with general functional manifestations of the cell, such as the cell cycle, movement and suchlike, including their regulatory mechanisms. The primary methods employed are cytochemistry, in situ hybridisation, electron microscopy, image analysis, and biological experiment in vivo and in vitro. The discipline overlaps with many others, especially molecular biology, biochemistry and physiology.

EXPERIMENTAL SURGERY

The discipline of experimental surgery is focused on study of the theoretical foundations of medical fields that employ surgical procedures in the widest sense of the term. The objects of study and research are the molecular biological, structural, pathophysiological and metabolic changes in damaged cells, tissue and organs that take place in the course of the progress of pathological processes, or their experimental induction, and that can be influenced by surgery. Particular attention is directed to questions of repair and healing of individual tissue structures. These processes are investigated in genetic, immunological and endocrinological connections.

PHARMACOLOGY AND TOXICOLOGY

Pharmacology and toxicology are sciences that study the mechanisms of the interaction of substances and therapeutic drugs (and their interproducts) with biological systems, and their favourably or unfavourable consequences for the organism. The ultimate goal is the exploitation of the knowledge acquired for prevention, diagnostics and treatment of human and veterinary disorders. These disciplines involve research from the molecular level to exploration of effects on the whole organism. Research is conducted in clinical practice as well, with patients suffering from the disorders concerned.

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGY

A functionally defined discipline, which is concerned with the study of the regulatory functions of organs during reaction and adaptation of the individual systems of the organism to changes of external and internal environment, in normal and pathological states. The usual procedure is to move from the study of the indirect manifestations of a certain function to the study of intrinsic functional and regulatory mechanisms at the cellular and molecular level with the aim of exploiting the knowledge gained for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human illnesses.

IMMUNOLOGY

The discipline studies the mechanisms of immune reactions at the cellular and molecular level in normal and pathological states

MICROBIOLOGY AND MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY

The discipline is focused on the physiology, molecular biology and genetics of micro-organisms. The object of research is study of the control of gene expression and physiological regulations (including their application in biotechnologies) and the mechanisms of the interaction of pathogenic bacteria with the host.

MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOLOGY, GENETICS AND VIROLOGY

Studies are orientated on a broader basis towards molecular biology and biochemistry, especially those parts concerned with the structure and function of genes and gene expression and its regulations on the transcription and translation level. The methodological basis of the discipline consists of classical and molecular approaches which are applied in the study of all types and levels of biological objects in normal and pathological states, including tumorous transformation of cells and infection processes, with the aim of understanding and purposefully modifying the biological mechanisms and manifestations involved.

NEUROSCIENCES

Neurosciences include and combine a number of subdisciplines such as neuro-anatomy, neurohistology, neurochemistry including likvorology, neirology including neuro-imaging methods, neurorehabilitation, psychiatry including psychology and neurosurgery.

PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

The discipline studies the mechanisms of interaction between chemical, physical and biological factors of the living and working environment and the organism. It integrates various methodological approaches primarily from the fields of toxicology, molecular biology and immunology. It is the theoretical basis for preventive disciplines in medicine, i.e. hygiene and epidemiology.

DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY

Developmental biology is focuses on the subject of the manifestations and mechanisms of the differentiation of cells and tissue in developing systems (in normal and pathological states), and especially on the ontogenetic development of the individual. It includes both study at the level of organs (developmental morphology) and study at the cellular and molecular level, particularly in the crucial area of regulation of gene expression. The discipline therefore integrated the methodological approaches of molecular biology, genetics, cellular biology and morphological fields.

MEDICAL BIOPHYSICS